The bookstores we list here are just some of the many online bookstores, book-clubs and newspapers which now inhabit the Web. Some offer much more than just books - including everything from software to music and more - but, if it's books you're after, this is a good place to start. According to your location, you may wish to the list the bookstores by country; they can be displayed by United States, Canada, United Kingdom or all together.

Each online bookstore has its own advantages - for example, some of the bookstores listed offer used books as well as new books, some are geared more towards student textbooks or technical books while shipping charges can vary considerably throughout. Therefore, we encourage you to take some time to visit several bookstores to find the deal that best suits your requirements before actually purchasing.

All Bookstores, In Alphabetical Order:

(A1 Books no longer appears to operate). A1Books (all one word), has been around quite a while longer than some similar stores - in fact since 1995 - and books can generally be found discounted by quite reasonable amounts. Besides books, A1Books also offers other products, although many of these are from third-parties, rather than direct from A1Books. Prices all in U.S. dollars, and A1Books currently only ships within the U.S.A. Overall, we generally find the website easy to navigate, although pages can sometimes be a little slow to load.

Abebooks Canadian book service is part of the Abebooks.com bookstore, which was launched on the Internet in 1996 and offers an enormous collection of rare, used, and out-of-print books through its network of over 10,000 independent booksellers. There is no Abebooks.ca destination as such, but the link we provide will direct you to the relevant Canadian information on the Abebooks website. Abebooks also offers free shipping on many items to Canada. You can also use Bublos to search for books offered by Canadian sources, and priced in Canadian dollars, using our booksearch tools.

Abebooks.co.uk is the sister-website of Abebooks.com, which was launched on the Internet in 1996. Each site offers an enormous collection of rare, used, and out-of-print books through its network of independent booksellers, with Abebooks.co.uk catering specifically to UK customers, while Abebooks.com is geared towards the North American market. Additionally, Abebooks UK offers free shipping on many titles which it lists, with no minimum purchase value. Abebooks also operate websites for Germany and France.

Abebooks.com was launched on the Internet in 1996 and offers an enormous collection of rare, used, and out-of-print books through its network of over 10,000 independent booksellers. Abebooks lists more than 40 million titles at any one time, with prices in U.S. dollars. Abebooks also operate websites for the U.K. (Abebooks UK), Germany and France. Of all the online stores offering used books, Abebooks tends to be one of the better destinations.

Alibris is a different kind of bookstore animal altogether, providing a unique selection of rare books, first editions, autographs, out-of-print, out-of-stock books, maps and the like, from independent sellers worldwide. Alibris is one of the more established online bookstores and, of any other online bookstore, is probably most similar to Abebooks. Excellent features exist at Alibris for locating that elusive book, and if you're a book collector, then Alibris was made for you.

Alibris UK is the sister website of Alibris.com, a well-established U.S. online book retailer. Alibris provides a unique selection of rare books, first editions, autographs, out-of-print, out-of-stock books, maps and the like, from independent sellers around the globe, and Alibris UK is focused on the United Kingdom and European marketplace. Excellent features exist at Alibris for locating elusive books, and if you happen to be a book collector, then Alibris was made for you.

Amazon.ca is the Canadian website of Amazon.com, the hugely popular Internet retailer and bookseller. Although started a few years after Amazon.com, the website is extremely popular with Canadian shoppers, and offers all the advantages you'd expect, including prices in Canadian dollars and shipping which is often cheaper than if buying from the U.S.A. At Amazon.ca, besides a vast range of books and music, you'll also find software, computer and video games, and much else.

Amazon UK is one of several international websites operated by Amazon.com, the hugely popular online bookseller and web retailer. Amazon UK has one of the largest selections of books of any UK retailer, and also lists second-hand books, and books from third-party sellers. Prices are, of course, all in British pounds, and shipping is free on most orders over £25. Besides the comprehensive range of books, Amazon UK is also a useful destination for electronics, software, music, and much else.

Founded in 1996, Amazon.com is now one of the most popular online shopping destinations, and is amongst the biggest online booksellers, listing hundreds of thousands of books at any one time. Besides Amazon's own inventory, a huge range of new and used books is also available from the many third-party sellers listed at Amazon. Also, unique to Amazon, is the handy "Search Inside" feature, which allows customers to view book pages, and search inside certain books. However, books are just one of the many product ranges available from the Amazon website, and you'll also discover a wide array of other products, from electronics and auto-parts, to musical instruments, magazines and much more.

Audible is now part of Amazon.com, and any Audible.com links on our site will direct you to the Amazon website.
Audible.com is probably one of the most well-known web-destinations for audio-books and digital audio entertainment. Audible.com provides customers with over 70,000 hours of audio programs from over 200 content partners. Example content includes digital audio books, audio magazines, newspapers, radio programs (Charlie Rose, BBC Newshour, The Bob Edwards Show to name just a few) and much more. Audible.com products can be downloaded and listened to on an iPod, Palm Handheld, Pocket PC, Audible Otis MP3 player, a computer, or on burned CD's, with numerous free samples available to listen to on the Audible.com website.

Barnes & Noble.com is one of the few online bookstores, which also has real "bricks and mortar" stores, operated by Barnes & Noble Inc, with hundreds of stores throughout the United States. Making good use of the Barnes & Noble brand, Barnes & Noble.com offers online customers a premium destination for books, music, DVD, video games, and related products and services. Between actual stores and online operations, Barnes & Noble sells almost 445 million books per year, and Barnes & Noble has been ranked the No. 1 retail brand for quality in America for the last five consecutive years by Harris Interactive.

Barrister Books - as the name should suggest - is an online law bookstore. While you may not find the latest Harry Potter books here, you will find student law books covering everything from admiralty law to criminal procedure to sports law - and the list goes on. If you're looking to buy law books, then we can recommend Barrister Books as being a very reasonable first stop. Prices are all in U.S. dollars, and shipping is free on all orders over $49.

The BBC Shop is a multi-channel retailer selling over 3,000 products at any one time including books, dvds, videos, audiobooks, toys and more, and with 98% of BBC Shop orders being delivered within one working day. The BBC Shop provides easy and convenient access to the complete range of BBC Worldwide published products, plus selected BBC-related products that are published by third parties.

Biblio.com is a leading online source for quality used, rare, and out-of-print books. With an inventory of more than 50 million books, offered by numerous other vendors, Biblio brings book lovers and collectors together with the books they are looking for. Whether you're looking for great reading copies at discount prices, some of the most scarce or hard-to-find titles, or deep savings (up to 90%) on college textbooks, there's generally more than a good book or two that you'll find at Biblio.

BiggerBooks.com is owned by "A Book Company, LLC", which was formed in 2001, and is the same company that operates the better-known eCampus Web-site, which dedicates itself to student-related books and products. BiggerBooks, however, is dedicated soley to selling discounted new and used books. Nothing too fancy here, but the simple, clean, and easy to navigate pages, makes finding books straightforward. Prices in U.S. dollars, and free shipping on orders of $59 or more.

Blackwell's Online Bookstore is amongst just the few online booksellers whom also boast a high street presence, and easily ranks as one the most established booksellers in the world, being established more than 125 years ago in Oxford, UK, in 1879. Today, Blackwell is still a family-owned business, but has now grown to include Blackwell Publishing, the academic book and journal publisher, and Blackwell Limited, the retail and library supply business. At Blackwell's UK website, customers can purchase a huge variety of book titles, all priced in British Pounds.

(Blackwell's USA no longer appears to be available.) Blackwell's Online Bookstore is among the handful of online booksellers whom also boast a high street presence, and is amongst the most established booksellers in the world. Established more than 125 years ago in the UK, in 1879, Blackwell is still a family-owned business today, but now has much broader interests, including Blackwell Publishing, the leading academic book and journal publisher, and Blackwell Limited, the retail and library supply business. At Blackwell's U.S. based website, North American customers can purchase a wide variety of titles, all priced in U.S. dollars.

The Book of The Month Club, operated by Booksonline, offers a vast selection of today's popular novels, intriguing biographies & histories, thrillers & lots more, with significant savings off publishers' edition prices, together with a generous dose of exclusive offerings and special promotions; so, if you're an avid reader then you'll be likely to make some significant savings. The Book of The Month Club website also provides author interviews and exclusive excerpts, amongst other features.

BookCloseOuts.com is the online presence of The Book Depot - one of the largest North American "remainder" bookstores. The BookCloseOuts' website is easy to navigate and prices are always competitive, with a wide range of book titles in various genres. Response times to our queries have to date been impressive. BookCloseOuts is based in Canada, but prices are provided in U.S. dollars, and BookCloseouts does ship internationally, unlike many online bookstores.

(This book site no longer appears to operate). Bookpool specializes in technical books, most especially computing-related books. You'll probably be able to find most of these books elsewhere too, but prices on many book titles at Bookpool tend to be competitive, and are often worth a second glance. A smaller range than some book sites, but an easy site to navigate. Prices are provided in U.S. dollars, but Bookpool does also ship internationally.

Books-A-Million is one of the largest book retailers in the U.S. and offers customers deep discounts at its online bookstore, Booksamillion.com. However, Booksamillion.com operates separately from Books-A-Million retail bookstores, with the stores and website each featuring different products and pricing. The Books-A-Million website has a huge inventory available, and is a pleasure to browse; you'll also find a good audio-book section at the website, together with magazines and much else.

(This site has since morphed into the IndieBound.org site). BookSense.com is all about buying books from your local bookstore. Your purchases are actually fulfilled by a local, independent bookseller, according to the zip code you provide. The purchasing process is very straightforward, and it provides a great way for you to support your local bookshops, and to enjoy the detailed knowledge, and passion, of independent booksellers nationwide. Prices are all provided in U.S. dollars. However, while dealing with the independent sellers is often a pleasure, trying to elicit a response from BookSense themselves often proves more problematic.

Booksonline.com is a leading direct marketer of general interest and specialty book clubs, such as Book of the Month Club, and currently serves more than 8.5 million members. Booksonline book-clubs offer massive savings off publisher book prices, and there are more than 30 book clubs to choose from, so there's rarely a shortage of good choices. The book clubs cover a diverse range of interests and also include large-print bestsellers, as well as childrens' books and many other topics too.

Buy.com offers a wide selection of books at always-competitive prices but also offers a variety of other goods too, especially electrical and technical. When launched in 1997, Buy.com featured just 30,000 high-tech products, but now offers over 2 million products in categories ranging from computer hardware and software to electronics, cellular, movies, music, sporting goods and more. Buy.com also has operations in the UK and Canada, where prices are displayed in the local currency.

Christianbook.com is the online home of Christian Book Distributors (CBD), a company that was started long before the World Wide Web existed and before personal computers were commonplace, as they are today. Today, CBD continues to grow and offers customers many more products than ever before, with more than 60 different catalogs and over 200,000 different Christian books, videos, CDs, cassettes, gifts, toys, games and more to choose from. Christianbook.com also features author profiles, book excerpts, author interviews, and other more general book information.

The ClassBook website - another book site for textbooks - has morphed from its original form several years ago into what is now described as being "designed exclusively with the needs of independent primary and secondary schools in mind.." However, while the website is nicely presented, and the usefulness of such a service may be obvious, we'll refrain from the usual accolades, since our original impression of Classbook.com was that both the customer support and the ClassBook search-engine were sadly lacking. There are lots of other textbook stores, so spend time looking around.

(CountryBookShop no longer operates.) CountryBookshop is a British based online bookstore, online since 1997. A well organized site, CountryBookshop lacks the high-street presence of similar online bookstores such as WHSmith, but does, nonetheless, have a retail shop housed in a former railway station, situated in the heart of the Peak District's countryside, in Bakewell, Derbyshire. CountryBookshop currently lists over 3 milllion book titles, including magazine subscriptions and board games making it one of the largest such online sources in the UK. CountryBookshop also ships internationally.

(e316.com Bookstore is now ChristianBookstore .Net). The focus of the Michigan based e316 Christian Bookstore is, naturally enough, Christian related products. The range of Christian books are a notable feature, but there other many other products also available, including software, music and videos. Amongst several other useful search tools, The Bible search feature is especially useful, and while not the fanciest website. or the biggest selection of books, e316.com does the things it does very well.

eBay Canada is one of many international eBay auction websites, but is geared especially towards Canadian customers. While visitors to eBay Canada may find a smaller selection of items available compared to eBay.com, there is still a huge amount of books on sale, and thousands of other products too, with prices, as always, set by the individual sellers. If you've never used eBay Canada before, then it's easy enough to create a free account, which you'll need to do before purchasing anything.

eBay UK is one of the many international eBay auction websites, but is geared especially towards United Kingdom customers. As with eBay.com, you'll find not only new and used books, but also millions of other products in categories as diverse as you can imagine, and often at a fraction of full retail prices. If you've never used eBay before, then it's easy enough to create a free account, which you'll need to do before purchasing anything. eBay also operates a number of other international sites, including Canada, USA and India, amongst others.

eBay is the largest auction website on the Internet, where you'll find both books and millions of other products in categories as diverse as you can imagine, and enabling trade on a local, national and international basis. You can find new and used books at eBay, and sometimes at a fraction of the full-price. If you've never used eBay before, then it's quite simple to create a free account and sign-up. eBay also operates a number of international sites, including Canada and UK, where a good selection of books can also be found.

The eCampus website, established in 1999, is aimed specifically at college students, and hence one can usually find some good deals on college textbooks and the like; you can also sell your old college textbooks on eCampus too. The eCampus mission is to provide the easiest, fastest, cheapest way for college and university students to buy textbooks and "stuff," and so, besides books, you'll also find art supplies, medical supplies, office supplies, and a whole range of other college essentials too.

(ElephantBooks no longer appears to operate). ElephantBooks.com offers visitors a beautifully presented site, and concentrates exclusively on out-of-print, rare, and fine used books, and is a useful site to visit when trying to locate that elusive book. ElephantBooks also purchases certain quality used books (see website for more details). Libraries may find ElephantBooks particularly handy, where the Library Ordering Center can provide some useful resources in tracking down hard-to-find titles.

Few retailers can boast of more than a hundred years of book-selling history, but Foyles bookstore is an exception. Two brothers, William and Gilbert Foyle, Foyles began selling books in 1903 - almost by accident - in London, England, and the rest, of course, is history. Now, more than a hundred years later, Foyles London bookstore is a must-visit location for book-lovers, where it stocks more than 200,000 titles at any one time, with another million titles available online. As one of the most well-known UK bookstore names, with a pedigree that is hard to match, a superb selection of books, and service as good as you will find anywhere, Foyles comes highly recommended.

Half.com (owned by eBay) enables users to buy and sell previously owned goods (books, music, movies etc) at discounted, but fixed, prices. (ie. unlike an auction where the item sells to the highest bidder). One can often find excellent deals here, and mint condition books can sometimes be found at heavy discounts. Half.com also provides a separate section for locating textbooks, and always has a comprehensive range of audiobooks available too.

Based in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, UK, History Bookshop is, as they describe, the product of a small number of people who work in the UK book trade and who are passionate about history. However, not limited to the academic discipline of History, History Bookshop also covers art, travel, literature, archaeology and more, and so providing an informative and stimulating bookshop for enthusiasts. The Timeline feature (the way that books are displayed at History Bookshop) is also really useful, and provides a unique method for quickly locating useful books and information. However, in our experience, attempting to get any useful response to enquiries from History Bookshop may prove far more challenging.

Howell's publishing program, established in 1961 and acquired by John Wiley & Sons in 2001, includes some of the most authoritative titles on numerous dog breeds - and much more, with books and reference works that provide expert guidance in the care, behavior, training and enjoyment of dogs, cats, birds, horses, fish, reptiles and amphibians. Besides being found in the homes of pet owners, fanciers, trainers, and equestrians, Howell's books are equally often found in top libraries, and on the shelves of respected veterinarians around the world.

Chapters.Indigo.ca is a leading Canadian destination for online shoppers seeking books, videos and DVDs, and is committed to providing a convenient and hassle-free e-commerce experience. Indigo was created in 1996, and then merged with Chapters Inc. in August 2001 to become Canada's largest books retail chain, and legally merged under the corporate name Indigo Books & Music Inc. Chapters Inc. was formed following the merger of Coles and SmithBooks, then Canada's two largest bookstore chains. Operating stores in all of the Canadian provinces, many customers will recognize the names of Chapters, Coles, SmithBooks, and World's Biggest Bookstore.

John Wiley & Sons, the book publishers, also host an impressive online bookstore, featuring their wide range of books and journals, from which books may be ordered by phone, by fax, by mail or online. The Wiley web-site is a pleasure to browse, with resources for casual visitors, authors, librarians and booksellers alike. With a history stretching all the way back to 1807, two hundred years ago, the Wiley brand is synonymous with professional and technical books, but browsing the website you'll quickly see that John Wiley & Sons now boasts a much broader range, including the ever-popular "For Dummies" series of books.

Pickabook Limited is based in Cheltenham, England, and was established in 1998. Pickabook began selling books online in June, 1999, and has since grown its site enormously, now offering over 5 million books direct from stock, with discounts of up to 80%. Pickabook also now sells audio books, CD-ROMs, video cassettes, calendars, stationery and much else. A fast and easy website to use, it doesn't usually take too long to find a good deal at the Pickabook website.

Powells, based in Portland, Oregon, is certainly amongst the better online bookstores, and sells both new and used books, besides operating several bricks and mortar stores in the Portland area too. On the Powells website, which went online in 1994, searching through Powells inventory of books is simple, and one can also find a wealth of other products and useful book-information too, such as the latest book awards, author interviews, eBooks, and a wide range of technical and textbooks.

To UK shoppers, Sainsbury's will be most familiar as one of the leading supermarket chains, but there are now also plenty of great books to find at the Sainsbury's entertainment website. While typically offering a smaller selection of books than a dedicated bookstore, shoppers can still find a very reasonable selection of books, in various subjects, and if you're looking for the latest bestsellers at a competitive price, then the Sainsbury's website is likely to serve you well. The site also sells a range of other entertainment products too, including DVDs and CDs.

Sheet Music Plus is one of the better-known online stores for purchasing sheet music, and carries over 410,000 songbooks, tabs, methods, singles, scores & more. Sheet Music Plus also has one of the best sheet-music search features, and customers can search for music by artist, by songbook title, by song name or composition, by instrument and other options too. The easy-to-navigate Sheet Music Plus website makes for simple, hassle-free music shopping.

(Student BookWorld no longer operates an online bookstore, as it once did.) StudentBookWorld was a British online bookseller where you could find around 250,000 stock books at discounted prices. StudentBookWorld was neither the fanciest site, nor the biggest, and neither did it appear to be very closely related to "students" in many ways, but it was an easy site to navigate. However, more recently, the site appears to generate revenue from displaying advertisements and referring visitors to the Amazon bookstore.

Sybex, part of John Wily & Sons, is one of the world's oldest and most respected publishers of computer books. The Sybex stable of titles range from the reputable "Mastering" best-sellers, used by millions of people to gain in-depth understanding of the latest computer topics, to certification Study Guides that help students prepare for challenging exams, to Maya Press books that service the needs of highly specialized 3D imaging and design markets; Sybex now offers more than a dozen unique book series.

Tesco is probably better known for its ever-expanding UK supermarket chain, than for its online bookstore, but there is indeed quite a comprehensive book section on the Tesco website, and Tesco book prices are always, at a minimum, very reasonable. Tesco also likes you to take note that prices on their top 50 chart books are always 10% cheaper than Amazon.co.uk, although there's much more to the Tesco website than just books, with a huge range of music and electronics, together with the popular online Tesco Grocery store as well.

TextbookX.com (formerly TextBooksAtCost.com), and operated by Akademos, is a leading online seller of new and used textbooks and other reading materials. Launched in the summer of 2002, and offering an inventory of nearly 1 million in-stock new and used titles, TextbookX offers customers a fully-integrated peer-to-peer marketplace for the purchase and sale of used books, and is a leading destination for students and educators across the country.

Founded in 1889, and with a current circulation of nearly 2.1 million, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is amongst the most respected sources for news and business information, and ranks as one of the worlds’ leading business publications. From the WSJ website you can now enjoy discounts of up to 70% when you subscribe to either The Wall Street Journal print edition, delivered to your door each day, or when you subscribe to The Wall Street Journal Online.

USA TODAY is one of the most popular U.S. newspapers, with an easy-to-digest, concise format providing cutting-edge news, trends and analysis in four complete color sections - News, Money, Sports, and Life. From the USA TODAY website you can order a subscription for periods of up to two years, and enjoy big savings at the same time. The USA TODAY website also boasts a handy book section, where you can catch up on the latest book news.

(This site is now operated by Follet, providing used books, textbook rental, digital textbooks, apparel and gifts to K12 and higher education facilities). VarsityBooks.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of Varsity Group Inc. Founded in 1997, the company was a pioneer in selling textbooks over the Internet directly to students and parents. Through the Varsity Partners program VarsityBooks.com offers private middle and high schools, colleges and distance learning organizations a premier online solution for outsourcing their textbook procurement and distribution.

Wal-mart online store, while not a dedicated bookstore, does always have a good selection of books available, especially the latest bestsellers, and often provides cheaper shipping options than many of the other bookstores. Books which you purchase from Walmart can also be gift-wrapped, and with other gift options you can also choose to include a gift receipt. Of course, besides books, Walmart also offers a huge range of other products as well, with everything from garden furniture to electrical goods, DVDs and much else.

Now part of HMV Group, Waterstone's first store opened in Old Brompton Road, London, in 1982 and currently operates over 300 stores, on high streets, in shopping centres, and on numerous university campuses throughout the UK, Republic of Ireland and continental Europe, as well as on the Isle of Man, Jersey and the Isle of Wight. At the Waterstone's website you'll find a clean-looking, and easy-to-use website, with the huge inventory of books that you'd expect. You will also find hundreds of audiobooks, regularly with up to 30% off.

WHSmith, long known for its U.K. high-street bookstores, now boasts an impressive Internet bookstore too. Much improved from its original site, bookstore navigation is now much easier than before, and the updated website also sells a useful range of stationary items, magazines, music and other entertainment essentials. You can also purchase WHSmith gift vouchers online too, and we can easily recommend the WHSmith website to U.K. customers. WH Smith shipping options are also very reasonable.

World Book Store is home to educational titles and collections such as The World Book Encyclopedia and other reference books, which are generally considered to be excellent works. World Book Store provides a wealth of titles for all age groups, but is an especially useful store if you're looking for reference books and learning materials for children. If you're looking to buy informative and educational volumes, then World Book Store should be amongst your first ports of call.

Wrox Press was established in 1992 to publish books for computer programmers, and is driven by the Programmer to Programmer philosophy. Wrox books are written by programmers for programmers, and the Wrox brand, which owned by John Wiley Publishers, means authoritative solutions to real-world programming problems. At the Wrox website you can find information on current and upcoming Wrox titles, as well as errata and downloadable code for all Wrox titles found on the web-site; you can also purchase Wrox Press books via the site's online shopping cart.

(The Zooba brand no longer appears to operate. Now links to Book of The Month Club). Zooba, located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is one of a number of book-clubs operated by Booksonline. Zooba offers the latest hardcover bestsellers plus a wide selection of titles, including Fiction and Nonfiction, Cooking and Diet, History and Current Affairs and much more, at only $9.95 each, and always with free shipping. Zooba is powered by Book-of-the-Month Club, a trusted source for books for over 80 years, since 1926.